Toy boat



G. CAGEN June 3, 1969 TOY BOAT Sheet of 2 Filed March 16, 1967 @EHZX all INVENTOR. 20,6 6 C1455 June 3, 1969 G. CAGEN TOY BOAT Filed March 16, 1967 Sheet 2 of2 IN VEN TOR.

M r m United States Patent 3,447,259 TOY BOAT George Cagen, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor to Ideal Toy Corporation, Hollis, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 16, 1967, Ser. No. 623,595 Int. Cl. A63h 33/26, 29/22, 23/04 US. Cl. 46-243 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates generally to toy boats, and more particularly to an improved battery powered toy boat having a simplified energization circuit and a more eflicient mode of operation.

The play value of a toy boat is related, to a great extent, to how closely it simulates an actual boat in both appearance and operation. Considerable effort is therefore made to faithfully pattern the appearance of the boat after that of a known craft and to provide for automatic operation of the boat, as for example by a battery powered motor. The embodiment of these features in the toy boat, however, effect its cost, and thus although contributing substantially to its play value cannot be carried out to the extent where the cost of the top is prohibitive It is desirable therefore to provide a simplified construction and mode of operation for the toy boat but without substantially detracting from the realism of its simulated appearance and operation.

Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved toy boat in which the improvements result in a simplified construction and a more efficient mode of operation for the boat. Specifically, it is an object to achieve the foregoing improvements while maintaining the realism of the boat, and in fact even contributing to this realism.

A toy boat demonstrating objects and advantages of the present invention includes a conventional hull having a rearwardly disposed pivotally mounted rudder thereon which is functional in both steering the boat and also in operating the motor. Specifically, the rudder is movable from a nonsteering position throughout a radial traverse during which it assumes any one of several steering positions. During movement into a steering position, the rudder is effective in completing the motor energization circuit and thereby causing operation of the boat motor. During motor operation, the boat is, of course, propelled through movement and also a pump is operated to remove any water from within the boat hull which, if not removed, could adversely etfect the operation of the motor.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of a presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative embodiment in accordance with the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a two-piece boat according to the present invention in a disassembled condition;

3,447,259 Patented June 3, 1969 FIG. 2 is a plan view of the hull assembly of the boat, taken on line 22 of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows, showing structural details of the boat operating parts, including its battery motor, which are housed in the boat hull;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view, taken in section on line 3-3 of FIG. 2, showing further structural details of the boat battery motor;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, taken in section on line 4-4 of FIG. 2, showing additional structural details of the motor and also of a pump driven by the motor;

FIG. 5 is a partial plan view, taken in section on line 55 of FIG. 4 as seen in the direction of the arrows, illustrating structural details of the impeller of the pump; and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating details of the energization circuit of the motor and of the switching means for opening and closing this circuit.

Reference is now made to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, wherein there is shown an interchangeable assembly of a boat body 10, which may be one of a plurality of such boat bodies, and a hull assembly generally designated 12, which includes an outer plastic hull 14. The illustrated boat body 10 is a model replica of a cabin cruiser or other such luxury craft and is only one of several boat bodies adapted for interchangeable assembly to the hull 14. For example, the boat body 10 can also he a model replica of a fireboat, a racing craft, a military craft or of additional types of boats. In all cases, the particular boat body that is used will include as exemplified by the boat body 10, a peripheral depending rim 10a having a pair of indentations 101; at approximately a central location on the internal surface of the rim. Thus, when the body 10 is positioned on the hull 14 which has a pair of lateral mounting projections 14a, the projections 14a snap into the indentations 10b to complete the assembly of the body 10 to the hull 14.

Attention is now directed to FIGS. 2-6 specifically illustrating the hull assembly 12. This assembly includes the previously noted hull 14 which defines a motor compartment 14b housing the operating elements of the boat. As is perhaps best shown in FIGS. 3, 4, there is appropriately molded in the bottom wall of the hull 14 a pair of centrally located mounting members 16 and 18 and, just forward of these two mounting members, a single spacing member 20. A plastic molded member, generally designated 22, is supported in a clearance position from the hull bottom wall on the members 16, 18 and 20, being secured as by screws 24, 26 to the members 16, 18, as clearly shown in FIG. 3. Three electrically conductive elements 28, 30 and 32, which form a part of the energization circuit for the battery motor of the boat and which elements are shown in isolated perspective in FIG. 6, are appropriately mounted on the member 22. More particularly, the element 28 is mounted adjacent the front end of the member 22, as by a rivet 28a as clearly shown in FIG. 2, and includes two upright portions 28b and 280 which serve as front battery contacts. The rear electrically conductive elements 30 and 32 are each also secured to the member 22 but adjacent the rear end thereof, as by rivets 30a and 32a, repectively, as clearly shown in FIG. 2. These elements respectively have a downwardly bent depending portion 30b and 32b which serve serve as rear battery contacts. As is best shown in FIGS. 2, 4, the bottom wall of the member 22 and a pair of medial upstanding walls 22a and 22b on the member 22 coopearte with the front battery contacts 28b, 28c and the rear battery contacts 30b, 30b to define a battery cradle for two batteries B B which function in a Well understood manner to power the boat 12.

More particularly, the batteries B B operate a motor,

generally designated 34, which is adapted to be snapped into place between upstanding walls 320 and 32d which advantageously are formed as part of the rear electrically conductive member 32. These walls are shown in FIG. 4 but, for claritys sake, have been omitted in FIG. 6. Motor 32 includes a motor shaft 34a which extends through a notch in the wall 32d and has a drive gear 36 mounted thereon. Appropriately journaled for rotation in a bore molded in the plastic member 22 at a location below the motor 34 is a boat drive shaft 38 which has one end protruding rearwardly of the hull 14 and a propeller 40 force fit on this protruding end. On the other end of the drive shaft 38 is a compound gear 42 in meshing engagement with the drive gear 46 and also with a second drive gear 44 which operates a pump within the motor compartment 14b in a manner which will subsequently be described. From what has already been described, however, it should be apparent that the motor 34 powered by the batteries B B is effective in powering the drive shaft 38 in rotation and thus also the propeller 40 mounted thereon to thereby cause movement of the boat.

The foregoing, however, requires that the energization circuit for the motor 34, generally designated EC in FIG. 6, be completed. This, in turn, is achieved by the novel combined switch and boat rudder assembly 46 of the present invention. Specifically, the rudder assembly 46 includes a flat steering portion or rudder 46a which extends rearwardly of the hull 14 and is effective, in a well understood manner, to steer the boat depending on its radial position. This is best illustrated in FIG. 2 in which typical steering positions S S and S for the rudder 46a are illustrated in phantom perspective. There is additionally shown a starting or nonsteering position S in which the rudder 46a is substantially flush against the hull 14. To partake of this radial transversing movement, the rudder assembly 46 includes a cylindrical rod 46b extending from the steering portion 46a and appropriately accommodated in a vertical bore in a mounting member 48 molded rearwardly in the hull compartment 14b. The upper end of the rod 46b has an actuating member 460 force fit thereon and adapted to be moved from a clearance position, as shown in FIG. 2, into an operative abutting position, as shown in FIG. 4, against a switching element 300 which is advantageously formed as a part of the electrically conductive element 30. As best shown in FIG. 6, the switching element 30c more particularly includes a depending portion 30d which, when the actuating member 46 is rotated against it, is in turn moved against a motor electrical contact 34b. The other motor electrical contact 340 is normally in physical contact against an upstanding portion 32e of the conductive member 32. Thus, and as may best be appreciated from FIGS. 2 and 6, when the rudder steering portion 46a is gripped and manually moved from its starting position S into any one of several pos sible steering positions, as exemplified by the steering positions S S and S this rudder movement also produces rotative movement in the actuating member 460 which, in turn, closes the switch element 30d against the motor contact 34b and thereby completes the motor energization circuit EC. As previously noted, upon the completion of this circuit, the drive shaft 38 and the impeller 40 mounted thereon are driven in rotation and cause movement of the boat. Additionally, the second drive gear 44 is powered in rotation and in turn drives a pump impeller 48 appropriately mounted on a dependent shaft portion 50 of this gear. The impeller 48 is housed within a pump housing 52 molded in the member 22 and has inlet openings 54 in communication with the area adjacent the bottom of the hull 14 in which any water which inadvertently finds its way into the hull 14 will ultimately flow. The housing 52 also includes an outlet 56 which is connected to a molded conduit or tubing 58 which has an elevated discharge end 58a which is above the normal water line of the boat. Thus, any water leaking inside of the hull 14 which if not removed might result in mal functioning of the motor 34, is removed by the pumping action of the impeller 48 which discharges this water through the rear discharge opening 58a. The discharging of this water, in fact, contributes to the activity involved in using thev boat and to this extent therefor increases the play value of this toy. It is therefore advisable to even encourage controlled leakage into the hull 14 and, to this end, the body 10 is provided with rear deck drainage openings 60, as clearly shown in FIG. 2. Completing the construction of the boat 12 are one or more weights W which are advantageously positioned along the bottom of the hull 14 and in this position effectively serving as ballast for the boat.

What is claimed:

1. A toy boat comprising a hull defining a motor compartment, pump means disposed in said motor compartment having an inlet and an outlet, said inlet communicating with said motor compartment for removing water therefrom and said outlet for discharging said water in a stream exiting from said hull above the normal water line of said boat, a battery-operated motor mounted in said motor compartment for propelling said boat and for operating said pump means, an energization circuit for said motor including at least one pair of circuit contacts adapted to be connected to a battery and a moveable switch having an open and closed position with respect to said pair of circuit contacts, a rudder mounted on said hull for steering said boat, and actuating means operatively connected between said rudder and said switch such that at predetermined positions of said rudder said switch is moved into its closed position with respect to said circuit contacts to complete said energization circuit for said motor.

2. A toy boat as defined in claim 1 further including a drive shaft having an end extending rearwardly of the hull, propelling means operatively connected to said drive shaft for driving said boat, said drive shaft having a portion thereof in proximate position to said pump means, and gear means operatively connected between said drive shaft portion and said pump means, whereby rotative movement of said drive shaft simultaneously propels said boat and operates said pump means.

3. A toy boat as defined in claim 2 wherein said energization circuit includes means defining a motor cradle for removably receiving said motor in an operative position, and said motor includes a motor shaft having a gear thereon in said operative position of said motor to mesh with said drive shaft gear means to rotate said drive shaft.

4. A toy boat comprising a hull defining a motor compartment, a battery-operated motor mounted in said motor compartment for powering said boat, a drive shaft operatively connected to said motor having an end extending from said hull connected to propeller means for causing movement of said boat, pump means in said motor compartment operative by said motor to remove water from said motor compartment, an energization circuit for said motor including at least one pair of circuit contacts for connection to a battery and a moveable switch having an open and a closed position with respect to said pair of circuit contacts, a rudder moveably mounted rearwardly of said hull for steering said boat, said rudder having predetermined steering positions and a non-steering position, and actuating means operatively connected between said rudder and said switch such that at said steering positions of said rudder said switch is moved into its closed position with respect to said circuit contacts to complete said energization circuit.

5. A toy boat as defined in claim 4 wherein said drive shaft has a portion therealong in proximate position to said pump means and further including gear means operatively connected between said drive shaft portion and said pump means, whereby rotative movement of said shaft simultaneously propels said boat and operates said pump means.

6. A toy boat as defined in claim 5 wherein said energization circuit includes means defining a motor cradle for receiving said motor in an operative position, and said motor includes a motor shaft having a gear thereon in said operative position of said motor to mesh with said drive shaft gear means to rotate said drive shaft.

7. A toy boat as defined in claim 6 wherein said pump means includes an inlet and an outlet, said inlet cornmunicating with said motor compartment for removing water therefrom and said outlet for discharging said removed water in a stream exiting from said hull above the normal water line of said boat.

8. A toy boat comprising a hull defining a motor compartment, pump means disposed in said motor compartment having an inlet and an outlet, said inlet communicating with said motor compartment for removing water therefrom and said outlet for discharging said water in a stream exiting from said hull above the normal water line of said boat, a battery-operated motor mounted in said motor compartment for propelling said boat and for operating said pump means, an energization circuit for said motor including at least one pair of circuit contacts for connection to a battery and a moveable switch having an open and closed position with respect to said pair of circuit contacts, and actuating means for moving said switch into its closed position with respect to said circuit contacts to complete said energization circuit for said motor.

9. A toy boat as defined in claim 8 further including a drive shaft having an end extending rearwardly of the hull, propelling means operatively connected to said drive shaft for driving said boat, said drive shaft having a portion thereof in proximate position to said pump means, and gear means operatively connected between said drive shaft portion and said pump means, whereby rotative movement of said drive shaft simultaneously propels said boat and operates said pump means.

10. A toy boat as defined in claim 9 wherein said energization circuit includes means defining a motor cradle for removably receiving said motor in an operative position, and said motor includes a motor shaft having a gear thereon for meshing with said drive shaft gear means to rotate said drive shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1925 Sawyer et a1. 46-243 3/1966 Schwartz 4694 X FOREIGN PATENTS 32,455 10/ 1964 Germany.

US. Cl. X.R. 4693 

